NIPPON SHAFT WINS THE 2012 SENIOR PGA CHAMPIONSHIP

The winner of the 2012 Senior PGA Championship used Nippon Shaft MODUS3 Tour 120 X-flex steel shafts in his irons en route to a two-stroke wire-to-wire victory at Harbor Shores Golf Club in Benton Harbor, Mich.

The 53-year-old Englishman shot 68-67-64-72 for a 17-under par total of 271 at the first championship ever staged at the challenging Jack Nicklaus-designed course in southwestern Michigan.

He led by as many as nine strokes on the front nine Sunday, but made a few bogeys coming in to win by two shots in a tournament he dominated over the last 36 holes.

“It’s the greatest day of my professional career, no question about that,” said the resident of Ascot, England, who in had never before won a Champions Tour event “It was hard work in the end. I think I had a nine-shot lead and your mind starts to wander a bit.”

Through 54 holes the champion hit 16 of 18 greens each day. He hit 14 of 18 in the final round.

“Nippon Shaft is very proud that its products contributed to a victory at one of the more prestigious championships in senior golf,” said Hiroyuki Fukuda, head of sales and marketing for Nippon Shaft. “We congratulate the champion.”

On the Ladies European Tour, the winner of the Unicredit Women’s German Open used the Nippon Shaft N.S. Pro 950GH steel shafts in her irons. The Frenchwoman earned her victory by making a birdie on the second hole of a sudden death playoff at Golfpark Gut Hausern outside Munich.

“The N.S. Pro 950GH has been a fixture on the women’s professional tours worldwide for many years,” Fukuda said. “We congratulate this week’s champion and wish her the best in the future.”

A number of touring pros – including former Ryder Cup and Presidents Cup team members – are playing prototype versions of the MODUS3 shafts in PGA and European PGA tournaments this year. The Tour 120 model weighs between 114 and 126 grams and comes in S, X, and Tour X flex options. An R flex is new this season. Other models still in the testing phase weigh as little as 106 grams and as many as 139 grams – but all meet the requirements of top players.

The N.S. PRO MODUS3 series shafts are growing in popularity with tour pros because they offer optimal performance in the three key areas:

1. Desired trajectory, which comes as a result of the unique shaft structure;2. Accurate distances, thanks to the shaft’s unique raw steel material and accompanying heat treatment;3. Tight dispersion, which comes from the exacting tolerances of the highest quality level.

Nippon Shaft made its reputation in the late 1990s by developing the first high quality lightweight steel shaft. The revolutionary N.S. PRO 950GH became the industry’s first sub-100 gram steel shaft, combining the stability and consistency of heavier shafts with extremely lightweight. Soon, Nippon Shaft grew to be the No. 1-selling shaft in Asia, controlling 80 percent of the market.

Nippon Shaft manufactures all of its steel and graphite shafts in a state-of-the-art factory at its headquarters in Yokohama, Japan. The company’s integrated production lines are strictly monitored and controlled with thorough checks conducted responsibly through the entire production process, Fukuda said. As a result, Nippon Shaft is able to control high product quality – from material selection to final testing.

Nippon Shaft has more than 200 professional tour victories on worldwide. Based in Yokohama, Japan, Nippon Shaft is the No. 1-selling steel shaft in Asia, where it controls 80 percent of the golf shaft market.

Nippon Shaft is a privately-held subsidiary of NHK Spring Co. LTD, a Japanese automobile parts manufacturer. Nippon Shaft's North American headquarters is in San Diego.